The Kremlin’s spokesman said on Monday that UN aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine can’t go there because of the fighting.

The UN had rebuked for allegedly denying aid workers access to Russia-occupied areas where residents are stranded amid “devastating destruction.” The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said that her staff were engaging with both Kyiv and Moscow, which control different areas, in a bid to reach civilians who face a shortage of food, drinking water and a lack of power.